21 October 2008
PRESS RELEASE
FIRST QUARTER SALES RESULTS
14 WEEKS TO 5th OCTOBER 2008
SALES OF $12.8 BILLION IN FIRST QUARTER UP 9.7%
FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS.
2008
Statutory
(14 weeks)
First Quarter by Division (AUD millions)
Australian Food and Liquor
New Zealand Supermarkets (1)
Petrol
Supermarket Division
BIG W
Consumer Electronics – Aust/NZ
Consumer Electronics – India
Consumer Electronics – Total
General Merchandise Division
Hotels
Continuing Operations
Wholesale Division
Total First Quarter Sales
(1)
7,667
1,070
1,321
10,058
936
347
18
365
1,301
297
11,656
40
11,696
2009
Statutory
(14 weeks)
8,304
1,010
1,723
11,037
1,036
368
40
408
1,444
300
12,781
43
12,824
Increase
8.3%
(5.6)%
30.4%
9.7%
10.7%
6.1%
122.2%
11.8%
11.0%
1.0%
9.7%
7.5%
9.6%
(1)
3.1% increase in NZD terms
Woolworths’ Chief Executive Officer, Michael Luscombe, today announced first quarter sales of
$12.8 billion, which represents growth of 9.6% on the previous year.
Mr Luscombe said: “This is a good start to the financial year. Particularly pleasing is the continued
momentum in our Australian operations, with an overall improvement in comparable sales growth.
The significant re-investment in each of our businesses has continued to deliver positive results.” said
Michael Luscombe, Managing Director and CEO.
1
Australian Food and Liquor
Australian Food and Liquor sales for the quarter increased 8.3%. Comparable store sales in
Australian Food and Liquor division for the quarter increased 6.0%. (Q4 2008: 4.9%)
Inflation in the first quarter was 3.2%. (Q4 2008: 2.9%) Key strategic initiatives focussed on our
customers, including the accelerated rollout of our 2010c store format, our Everyday Rewards
Program and continued price re-investment have all contributed to this sales result. These
initiatives continue to be well received by our customers.
New Zealand Supermarkets
New Zealand Supermarkets achieved sales of $1.0 billion for the quarter, an increase of 3.1% in
NZD terms. (5.6% decline in AUD) Comparable sales for the first quarter were 3.0%(1) (Q4
2008: 3.5%) reflecting the tighter macroeconomic environment and a higher level of
refurbishment activity.
In New Zealand, our overall food inflation was approximately 5.7% (Q4 2008: 4.6%) reflecting
continued pressure on produce, perishable and bakery items.
(1)
Note: comparable sales % quoted based on NZD sales.
Petrol
Petrol dollar sales for the quarter, including Woolworths/Caltex Alliance sites, increased 30.4%,
with average fuel sell prices well above the prior year. Petrol comparable sales increased by
26.5% (Q4 2008: 20.4%), with comparable volumes having increased 1.7% (Q4 2008: 1.8%) for
the quarter. The solid growth reflects the strength of our offer and the continued acceptance of
the Everyday Rewards program, which has 2.6 million registered cards.
BIG W
BIG W sales grew by 10.7% during the quarter which is a solid start to the year. Comparable
store sales for the quarter increased 4.4%, an improvement on the 2.6% comparable growth
recorded in the fourth quarter of 2008. This result represents the eighth consecutive quarter of
positive comparable sales and reflects the continued customer acceptance of BIG W’s everyday
low price position.
Consumer Electronics
Consumer Electronics grew by 11.8% during the first quarter.
Consumer Electronics (in Australia and New Zealand) has continued to enjoy solid growth with
sales for the quarter increasing 6.1%. Comparable store sales increased by 4.9 % (normalised
for exchange movements) during the quarter, an improvement on the 3.8% recorded in the
fourth quarter of 2008, reflecting an improved result from our Australian operations.
Our business venture with TATA in India now services 22 retail stores operating under the
Croma brand and has produced sales of $40 million for the first quarter.
2
Hotels
Hotel sales in the quarter increased by 1.0% to $300 million. Hotel comparable sales
declined by 0.8% in the quarter (Q4 2008: 3.5%) as we continue to see the impacts of tighter
discretionary spending and smoking bans. Gaming comparable sales were flat. (Q4 2008:
4.3%).
Note: Full smoking bans were previously in force in Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania. Full
smoking bans were applied in NSW and Victoria from 1 July 2007, and were introduced into South Australia
from 31 October 2007.
SALES OUTLOOK FOR THE FULL YEAR
“We are mindful that discretionary spending continues to be influenced by macroeconomic
factors and will be influenced by the recent events in global financial markets. Subject to the
uncertainty these factors create, we maintain our sales outlook for the full year where we
expect sales from continuing operations to grow in the upper single digits.” said Mr.
Luscombe.
For further information contact:
Clare Buchanan
Tom Pockett (Finance Director)
(02) 8885 1032 Media
(02) 8885 1105 Investors / Analysts
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